Faced with massive unemployment rates and the disgrace of what is known as the jobless recovery, the countries which call themselves the Group of 8 (the former G-7 with the addition of Russia) held a "Jobs Conference" in Kobe, Japan on November 30. Like others of the same kind, this conference had nothing to do with sorting out the problem of joblessness or unemployment. The doubletalk contained in the statement issued following the conference was all aimed at 1) covering up the crisis of the capitalist system and its inability to provide for the people, and 2) giving credibility to the anti-social offensive being implemented by the G-8. These countries are using international fora such as this to adopt programs to continue the restructuring of all existing programs. The aim is to bring down all fetters which impede trade liberalization and the privatization of social programs so as to free funds in the state treasury to hand over to the rich. The very notion of a modern society which is responsible for guaranteeing the human rights of its members to a livelihood, health, education and well-being in the form of food, shelter and clothing and a standard of living commensurate with the standard society has attained is being thrown out the window by governments operating behind the backs of the people. The only thing the workers can hope to learn from such conferences is what lies in store for them as concerns the further attacks of the capitalists and their governments. News agency reports clearly reveal that the attempt is made to create the illusion that capitalism creates jobs, even though all the evidence shows this is not true. Japan's Minister of Labour Bunmei Ibuki said that the G-8 found "free initiatives in enterprises" a "remedy for balancing U.S.-style deregulation with traditional European social protection." He claimed that the "private-sector initiatives" would lead to "the creation of new industries to bring about quality jobs." The official view that workers must fend for themselves was expressed as follows by Ibuki: "Macroeconomic policies must be supported by structural reforms as well as active labour market policies to translate growth into jobs." British Employment Minister Andrew Smith talked about the importance of "balancing industrial productivity and job security," by which he also meant that the workers must fend for themselves. According to news agency reports, he called on the workforce to "face the challenges of change without fears." The statement issued by the G-8 called on workers to improve "employability through intensive training and educational programmes which allow workers to acquire the skills indispensable to perform in newly emerging sectors." "Human resource development is the responsibility of both companies and individuals, when appropriate, by governments," the statement pompously declared. The definition of "when appropriate" was conveniently left to the imagination. The statement also revealed its real aim: to sanction the reform of social programs which is taking place against the interests of the peoples. Again, it did this by hiding behind doubletalk about concern for jobs and the public interest. "We recognized the importance of adapting some social security systems in order to make them more employment friendly, and to moderate the public burden," the statement said. This is a blatant attempt to eliminate funding to social programs so as to hand over more money to the rich in the form of interest payments on the debt, but it is carried out under the cover of the public interest and concern about jobs. The next sentence carries this doubletalk further, this time in the name of "sustainable development." It reads: "This will set up a sustainable social security system and contribute to a strong economic base necessary for the maintenance and the creation of employment." It is serious enough that "ministers" get together to decide policies for sovereign countries without the peoples of those countries agreeing to anything they decide. The statement says that "for the first time trade union representatives joined the conference." This is designed to provide the conference decisions with legitimacy. Even though the entire agenda is against the working class and peoples of the G-8 countries, the statement declared the G-8s "commitment to observe internationally recognized core labour standards and looked forward to the outcome of the work on this currently underway at the International Labour Organization." The ILO is a tripartite body whose main aim is to reconcile the workers of all countries to the demands of big business and big government. Talk about "core" labour standards is like saying you can have the apple core but don't ask for the apple. You are supposed to be happy that at least you can plant the seed and perhaps grow a new apple which can be eaten somewhere down the line. The statement also supported the nefarious aims of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment when it emphasized what it called "the need for the transition of industries from low-growth sectors to emerging sectors" "through the removal of regulatory barriers to investment, innovation and new technologies." It sanctioned the cuts to funding of higher education and the destruction of a modern education at the high school level by seeking "a better link between educational outcomes and the skills requirements of the workforce." In other words, only education which addresses the skills which are needed by the jobless recovery are to be kept. Such conferences only reveal the ever increasing number of initiatives which governments are taking to decide the policies which affect their societies behind the backs of the working class and people and then present them as a fait accompli. They are rammed through the Legislatures or through Cabinet, the courts and any other trappings of the unrepresentative democracy as is happening federally and provincially. Far from resolving a single problem, such things will deepen the crisis of credibility and legitimacy facing the bankrupt political institutions. They underscore the need to get rid of them and replace them with new arrangements which guarantee that it is the interests of the working class and people which are put in first place, not those of the financial oligarchs. TML Daily, 12/13/97 Shawgi Tell Graduate School of Education University at Buffalo [EMAIL PROTECTED]